Rocky Mountain Neo-Con

Today neo-conservatism identifies those who believe in an aggressive policy against radical Islam and the global terrorists. - David Horowitz

Friday, October 27, 2006

Is It Okay For Christians To Celebrate Halloween?

Origins Of Halloween

For a proper understanding of the modern American celebration on October 31st., we must look at three early celebrations that have come together to form today's Halloween.

The first of these precursors to Halloween goes all the way back to pre-Christian Ireland and Scotland to a celebration of the Druids or Celtic priests. The Celtic year began on November 1st with the festival of Samhain. On the eve of Samhain, October 31st, laughing bands of young people disguised in grotesque masks carved lanterns from turnips and carried them through the villages. It was sort of a harvest festival, and in addition, it was thought of as a festival of the dead. The druids believed it was on that night when the earth comes into closest contact with the spiritual world; and consequently ghosts, goblins and witches supposedly destroyed crops, killed farm animals and wreaked havoc on the villagers. As these spirits of the dead roamed around, villagers lighted bonfires to either drive them away or to guide the spirits of the dead back to their homes.

The second precursor to Halloween goes back to the Dark Ages in central Europe. There, the Christian church destroyed many of the temples of various pagan gods and goddesses, such as Diana and Apollo. However, this pagan worship was never completely eradicated and took on the form of witchcraft. One of the most important aspects of witchcraft is a number of celebrations each year which are called "Witches' Sabbaths." One of the highest of the Witches' Sabbaths is the High Sabbath or the Black Sabbath of Witches on October 31st. Much of the Halloween folklore of today such as black cats, broomsticks, cauldrons and spells come from the Black Sabbath.

The third precursor to Halloween goes back to the early Roman Catholic Church. The church had appointed certain days to honor each saint and basically ran out of days in the year for all their saints to have a day, so they decided to have one day to remember all the saints. They called it All Saints' Day. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory the third changed All Saints' Day from May 13th to November 1st, and in the year 834 Pope Gregory the fourth extended this celebration to the entire Roman church. This event was called Allhallowmass, and as you might suppose, there was a celebration on the evening before on October 31st, called All Hallow E'en, "all hallow" meaning all of the hallowed ones. As you might guess, the contraction of hallow and e'en is where the word Halloween is derived.

The modern custom of going door to door begging for candy while dressed in costumes called "trick or treating," goes back to the pagan new year's feast in Ireland. The spirits that were thought to throng about the houses of the living were greeted with a banquet. At the end of the feast, villagers disguised as souls of the dead, paraded to the outskirts of the village leading the spirits away. This was done to avoid any calamities the dead might bring. Another way the villagers tried to appease the dead was to set out bowls of fruit and other treats so the spirits would partake of them and leave them in peace. Later when the belief in ghosts and goblins declined, youths dressed up as ghosts and goblins and threatened to play tricks on those who failed to be generous with treats.

The jack-o-lantern, also known as will-o-the-wisp, fox fire and corpse candle, among other things, was believed to be a wandering soul which could not find refuge in either heaven or hell because of a particularly evil deed committed in its lifetime. The Finns believed that it was the soul of a child buried in the forest. A corpse candle is said to be a small flame moving through the air in the dark and is believed by the superstitious to be an omen of the observers imminent death.

According to ancient folklore from many places, a will-o-the-wisp wanders about swamp areas, enticing victims to follow. These strange fires were also known as "foolish fire," because only a fool would follow them. Today's pumpkin face is symbolic of that mocking spirit.

It is always wise to look into any customs associated with holidays and be aware of their roots.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Illegal Immigrant To Determine Colorado's Next Governor

Carlos Estrada-Medina Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter put this heroin trafficker back on the street.

An illegal immigrant just might tip the election of Colorado’s next Governor in favor of the Democratic candidate Bill Ritter, a former Denver District Attorney.

Republican candidate, Bob Beauprez, has attacked Ritter for being soft on illegal aliens, specifically, an illegal alien by the name of Carlos Estrada-Medina, who was arrested in Denver on a heroin distribution charge in 2001.

Denver DA Bill Ritter allowed Estrada-Medina to plea-bargain down to the crime of “Trespassing on agricultural land”, a misdemeanor, Estrada-Medina was granted probation, and thus, was not deported back to Honduras. He went on to sexually assault a little girl in San Francisco.

From Heroin Distribution to Trespassing on Agricultural Land. Why? Ritter said that the main witness in this case is a known drug user and not a credible witness. Does that sound like justification for downgrading the plea to an unrelated misdemeanor allowing him to remain in the U.S.?

Carlos Estrada-Medina is a known heroin trafficker with a criminal record of heroin distribution. He was also arrested in Multnomah County, Oregon, in 1998 for suspicion of delivery and manufacture of the controlled substance.

The result of that arrest was also a plea bargain for which Estrada-Medina received three months of probation. Federal Immigration officials also placed a hold on him so that he could be deported. Estrada-Medina was to have been deported Nov. 11, 1998.

But according to a Rocky Mountain News report, in August 2001, MultnomahCounty officials received a call from immigration authorities, saying he had not been deported.

No one seems to know why he was allowed to remain in the U.S.

Also, according to a news release issued by William W. Mercer, United States Attorney in Billings, Montana, Estrada-Medina was arrested by a Border Patrol Agent during a transportation check at the Billings bus depot, on March 16, 2005. Estrada-Medina’s fingerprints were entered into the IDENT/IAFIS system. The results of the query indicated that Estrada-Medina had previously been deported from Houston, Texas on December 8, 1999. There is no record of an application for permission to re-enter the United States from the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

The news release also indicated that Estrada-Medina admitted the records were his. He further admitted that he is a native and citizen of Honduras and that his true name and date of birth were correct as they appeared on his Honduran National Registration Card.

After his arrest in Colorado, Estrada-Medina apparently left the state and in 2003, ended up in San Francisco, California. He stayed busy. He sexually assaulted a little girl while in San Francisco. He was arrested on suspicion of lewd conduct with a child, a weapons violation, child molestation and sexual battery on a medically institutionalized person.

He was allowed to plead guilty to misdemeanor battery, according to a San Francisco district attorney spokeswoman.

But back to Colorado, Bill Ritter has a track record of plea bargaining over 95% of his cases while his campaign boasts of his high conviction rate. With Estrada-Medina’s extensive and impressive record, did Bill Ritter not bother to check his background upon his arrest and prosecution? Or did Bill Ritter simply not care?

The Bob Beauprez campaign ad that attacks Ritter’s atrocious record showed promise of being effective. Then the story broke that Beauprez’s campaign staff received the information about Estrada-Medina from a source that had access to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database.

This has resulted in an investigation by the FBI into the Beauprez campaign and how it received the information about Estrada-Medina. The news media in Colorado has remained silent about Ritter’s lack of concern and responsibility regarding Estrada-Medina's crimes after he left Colorado. The news media instead has concentrated on the issue of whether the information leak was legal or not.

One television news station reported that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has determined that the person who accessed the database works for a federal law enforcement agency in Denver, Beauprez knows who the source is, but to his credit, has refused to identify the person.

“I think the public does have a right to know that Bill Ritter put a heroin trafficker back on the street who went on to be arrested for the sexual abuse of a child. Bill Ritter has never denied that he did this. Bill Ritter has never accepted responsibly or apologized to the people of Colorado for his failure.

Now Mr. Ritter has embarked on a witch-hunt, demanding that my campaign release the name of our source. Instead of explaining why it is that Bill Ritter put dangerous criminal aliens back into our communities, when they should have been deported, he wants to destroy the life and career of a good man who blew the whistle.

A conscientious member of law enforcement exposed a reckless policy embraced by Bill Ritter and now Bill Ritter is demanding to know his name so he can destroy this person. Well, he won’t be getting it from me.”

The sad thing is the REAL scandal is being ignored by the media, the real scandal is the fact that Bill Ritter believes in and supports the SanctuaryCity concept for illegal aliens that the City of Denver operates under.

BILL RITTER’S SELF- RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION

So, what Ritter is truly angry about is that the Beauprez campaign exposed the fact that Ritter allowed an illegal alien with numerous alias’ and criminal charges in different states to remain here in America and drop out of sight to molest a child in California.

What Justification is there for government secrecy of the arrest records and list of aliases of illegals?

Colorado arrest records of U.S. citizens are available to the public through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for a small fee under $7.

Why are the arrest records of illegals entitled to secrecy but arrest records of U.S. citizens are not?

Why has Bill Ritter not denied the veracity of the information regarding Estrada-Medina’s record?

What harm has been done to the public, or to the government, resulting from the release of the information?

Ritter is more concerned about his political ambitions and his Welcome All Illegal Aliens philosophy than he is about a sexual assault on a little girl.

Ritter has certainly done his part to ensure that Denver is a sanctuary city for illegal aliens.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Tough Choices

Perhaps the most frightening thought to a parent would be that their child’s school is under siege. ColumbineHigh School in JeffersonCountyColorado, PlatteCanyonHigh School in Bailey Colorado, the AmishSchool House in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania.

All were schoolhouse shootings and people died in every instance. There have been many others with the same results. Innocent students and teachers shot and killed or grievously wounded by murderous punks with a vendetta against…what?

Who knows? Who cares what the reasoning is? The real question is; what can we do about it? Sadly, unless someone with advance warning comes forward before it happens, this type of violence won’t be stopped.

Banning guns isn’t the answer, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters at Columbine, were already banned from possessing the weapons they used. The law didn’t prevent the massacre. Did it?

The Independent School District of Burleson, Texas has come up with one answer. The school district has contracted with Response Options, a security company in Texas that has developed a training course that includes instructional video tapes that shows a man with a gun going into a classroom only to be attacked himself, by the students. The course instructs students and teachers to use as weapons, what ever is available at the time. Books, backpacks, desks, chairs, or anything they can get their hands on.

Robin Browne, a Major with the British Army, and one of the designers of the training course said students and teachers need to take action to defend themselves and each other. The course shows them how. It also show them how to stop the bleeding of a gunshot wound. This training has been well received within the school district by students, teachers, and parents.

This training is, of course, controversial, since it puts minors in harms way.

Ronald Stephens, Executive Director of National School Safety said; "When it comes to fighting an attacker even SWAT teams have a hard time knowing what to do. How can we expect kids to know what to do?"

This is a fair question. But the kids are already in jeopardy at this point. Of course, the younger and smaller the children are, the less chance of it being effective. This concept is not perfect. Those students and/or teachers who attack the attacker first will possibly be wounded or killed. But if they do nothing and wait for the SWAT team to rescue them, most will more than likely die or suffer serious injury anyway.

When a person with a gun or other weapon enters a school with the intent to kill and maim, the students and teachers become their own first line of defense. Unless a school is fortunate enough to have trained armed people on hand, in the school, locked and cocked.

Most schools do not.

Those kids at Columbine were shot and killed or seriously wounded while the SWAT teams sat outside. It irritates some people when I mention that, but it’s the truth

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

A Stark Reality

This picture truly tells a story. It’s a satellite photograph of the KoreanPeninsula at night. The border between North and South is visible, but you don’t need it to differentiate the two nations.

The south is lit up because it’s a very prosperous and successful, capitalist regime. In fact, South Korea’s economy hit the trillion dollar mark in 2004.

The stark reality of North Korea’s economic failure is demonstrated by it’s darkness at night.

Recently on the Tonight Show, in his monologue, Jay Leno joked that electrical power is shut down in North Korea at 9:00 p.m. I don’t know if this is a true statement, but the picture above makes the joke sound like fact.

North Korea is slightly smaller than the AmericanState of Mississippi, and has a population of slightly more than 23 million people. It borders China, South Korea, and Russia. North Korea has natural resources such as coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower, and nuclear power.

Some of the environmental challenges that the North faces are; water pollution, inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne diseases, deforestation with soil erosion and degradation

As far as religion is concerned, North Korea was traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, with some Christianity. Now however, autonomous religious activities are almost nonexistent because of governmental pressure. There are government sponsored religious groups in the North, but they exist only to provide a claim of religious freedom.

North Korea is a literate society, that is, of those aged fifteen years and over, 99 percent can read and write. This literacy rate is the same as the United States.

So with such a high literacy rate, and some natural resources, why is North Korea dark? Why does it face such desperate economic conditions?

North Korea’s industrial capital stock is nearly gone because of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts, and it’s industrial and power output have been in decline and continue to decline.

North Korea received agricultural assistance from South Korea and other nations, and had an increased harvest in 2005, but North Koreans still suffered their eleventh year of food shortages. Why? Because of on-going systemic problems that include insufficient arable land, collective farming practices and shortages of farming equipment such as tractors, and the fuel to make them go.

It’s only because of massive international aid in the form of food deliveries that have allowed the North Korean people to escape mass starvation. But they continue to suffer from malnutrition and poor living conditions.

North Koreans have been hungry for a long, long, time.

Of course, North Korea’s massive military spending consumes the resources needed for investment and civilian use.

In 2004, Kim Jong Il, Chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, and General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, (or despotic dictator) formalized an arrangement allowing private "farmers markets" to begin selling goods. He also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an attempt to improve agricultural output.

But then, In October 2005, Kim Jong Il reversed some of these policies by forbidding the private sale of grain and he reinstated a centralized food ration system. Two months later, the regime confirmed that it was going to terminate all international humanitarian assistance operations, and to restrict the activities of aid organizations such as the World Food Program.

In fact, North Koreans are so desperate to escape famine, economic deprivation, and political oppression, that neighboring China has an illegal immigration problem as tens of thousands of North Koreans attempt to cross the border.

Can you imagine how bad life must be that you would want to escape to China?

So, while North Korea cannot feed its population, Kim Jong Il continues to squander precious resources to maintain an army of 1 million, and a very active nuclear weapons program.

Of course, like any good dictator, Kim Jong Il’s political control remains his top concern, and his people be damned to starvation.

* Politicians fear petitions, especially those that limit their political power. However, petitions are a safety valve to correct abuses. If politicians act foolishly, or refuse to act, we must be able to protect our freedoms, families, finances, and futures. The right to petition is so important that the Founding Fathers listed it in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Politicians may try to restrict our rights. We the People must support PRA to guarantee our constitutional rights to petition for our right to vote on needed reforms. We must save traditional "checks and Balances" and other American principles of limited government.

November 7, 2006- Official Ballot Title of Amendment 38

Shall there be an amendment to the Colorado constitution concerning initiative and referendum petitions, and, in connection therewith, changing petition rights and procedures; allowing petitions to be submitted at all levels of Colorado government; limiting initiative ballot titles to 75 words; changing single- subject requirements and procedures; limiting the annual number of new laws that governments may exclude from possible referendum petitions; establishing standards for review of filed petitions; specifying that petitions may be voted on at any November election; limiting the use of government resources to discuss a petition; requiring voter approval for future petition laws and rules and for changes to certain voter-approved petitions; and authorizing measures to enforce the amendment?

Friday, October 13, 2006

Colorado - Vote YES On Amendment 38

The right to petition is our greatest bulwark against tyranny and corrupt politics. Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence, “governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” affirm the sovereignty of the people over their government. Political insiders constantly try to weaken petition powers. Why? Petitions strengthen citizens, while reducing the power, and increasing the accountability, of politicians.

Coloradans must reject further strangulation of petitions by politicians, bureaucrats, and other authoritarians. We must defend our First Amendment right to petition. The Founding Fathers wisely provided us this safety valve to relieve public frustrations that might otherwise lead to lawlessness or bitter apathy.

Petition opponents falsely claim petitions are now the playthings of the rich, inaccessible to grassroots activists. They fantasize that sinister forces now control our ballots, buying petition signatures and election outcomes with special interest money.

In fact, citizen efforts can succeed. In 1992, the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment used all volunteer petitioners and passed, despite being outspent 4-to-1 by government unions and other special interests. Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, and other grassroots groups have also reformed government using petitions.

Money can’t make voters support a bad idea. Money spent lobbying legislators brings better results for special interests, which is precisely why we need the check-and-balance that petitions provide.

Schemes to raise signature requirements would worsen the problem by making petitioning more difficult for grassroots campaigns. Likewise, requiring super-majorities for some ballot issues, so that “no” votes count more than “yes” votes, would be absurdly undemocratic.

Voters are selective and reject many petitioned reforms. In 95 years, only about 70 petitioned laws have been approved by Colorado voters. By contrast, our legislature passes several hundred new laws each year. Yes, the petition process does need some help. Governmental hostility and petty technicalities now discourage citizen efforts to clean up politics. That is why Citizens for Petition Rights has proposed Amendment 38, the Petition Rights Amendment (PRA), which is now officially on the 2006 state ballot.

Dismayed at governments spending tax dollars to campaign against petitions? PRA fines officials who steal tax money to buy elections to advance their own political agenda.

Displeased that many petitions propose amending the constitution? PRA creates incentives for statutory laws, not constitutional ones, by stopping politicians from repealing or gutting voter-approved statutory petitions. PRA also encourages the legislature to lower the signature requirement for statutory petitions.

Disgusted with use of petty technicalities to toss out petition entries? PRA provides standard forms and tolerates minor omissions like county, apartment number, or year signed.

Worried about constant petition elections? PRA limits them to each November.

Colorado has the nation’s most anti-petition legislature. Our citizens have successfully appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court repeatedly to restore our right to petition after political attacks. PRA will save tax dollars now spent on litigation by defining the entire petition process in one easy-to-read page.

Remember, petitions alone change nothing. They merely allow citizens the right to vote on proposed laws. Those who attack petitions are trying to suppress your precious right to vote.

Please go to the Volunteers section on the main menu to learn how you can help protect your right to petition.

For more information, e-mail info@PRA2006.com or call 303-753-5050. Volunteer to help us now, and remember to vote for Amendment 38, the Petition Rights Amendment, on November 7th. THANK YOU!

PRA proponent Dennis Polhill of Golden is past Chairman of the Board of the national Initiative and Referendum Institute.

PRA proponent Douglas Campbell of Arvada ran for Secretary of State in 1994.

Thursday, October 12, 2006

6th Anniversary of The USS COLE Terrorist Attack

U.S.S. COLE

While refueling in Aden Harbor, Yemen, the U.S.S. COLE was attacked on Port Mid-Ships by a small boat driven by two Muslim terrorists with explosives onboard,resulting in a 40 by 60 foot hole in the side of the ship.

17 American Sailors died in the attack. 39 American Sailors were wounded.

A memorial dedication ceremony was conducted at Naval Station Norfolk Virginia on 12 October 2001, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Muslim terrorist attack

Thousands of private individuals and businesses across the country contributed to the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society to make the memorial possible.

The Memorial design began as a vision of U.S.S. COLE crewmembers.

Let us never forget those who have given all,For the sake of the call.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Do you love .45 ACP 1911's?

“The 1911 pistol remains the service pistol of choice in the eyes of those who understand the problem. Back when we audited the FBI academy in 1947, I was told that I ought not to use my pistol in their training program because it was not fair. Maybe the first thing one should demand of his sidearm is that it be unfair.” — Col. Jeff Cooper, GUNS & AMMO, January 2002

He also told the police "It's OK, I'm federal, I'm with the nation." It hasn’t been established yet whether or not he was referring to the Nation of Islam. But when his mother was interviewed, she said her son had become "different" during the past few months and had been talking about the Quran, he also said he was god and that he wanted to go to Iran to become Muslim and become president.

The alleged shooter is also suspected of shooting at a fifty five year old woman who was in her car and stopped at an intersection two days prior to Detective Thomas’ death.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Violent Crimes By Illegal Aliens; Part 1

Juan Leonardo Quintero

Proponents of amnesty for illegal immigrants keep telling us that no human being is illegal. They also tell us that illegals are hard working, pay taxes, and are essential to our economy, as they’ll do jobs that Americans won’t do.

Did you know that no government agency tracks crimes committed by illegals? Not even violent crimes?

World Net Daily reported on September 28, 2006that Officer Rodney Johnson of the Houston Police Department pulled a white Ford pickup truck over for driving twenty miles over the speed limit in a thirty mile an hour zone. The driver could not or would not produce a driver’s license or any other form of Identification. Officer Johnson apparently had the driver get out of the vehicle, patted him down, handcuffed him and put him in the back seat of his patrol car.

Officer Johnson must have missed the gun that the driver had on his person. The offending driver was able to pull his gun out, fire four rounds and kill the policeman.

Rodney Johnson is described as a 12 year veteran of the Houston police force. He was married with five children. Those who knew him said he was big, kind-hearted and unafraid.

Houston radio station KTRH reported that there may have been three other people in the truck with the driver, but they fled the scene after the shooting. The shooter was still in the patrol car when back up officers arrived in response to Johnson's distress call. Shell casings and the gun itself were recovered from the back seat, according to court documents.

The man charged with Officer Johnson’s murder is a Mexican illegal alien named Juan Leonardo Quintero. He has a previous criminal record here in the United States. He was charged with driving while intoxicated in 1995. He was also charged with molesting a twelve year old girl and deported back to Mexico in 1999.

Quintero re-entered the U.S. illegally, again, and was living in Houston.

Houston is a sanctuary city for illegals, as police officers, because of departmental policy, cannot ask anyone about their immigration status. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt supports this idiotic policy. So does Houston City Councilman Adrian Garcia who said he believes that requiring police to ask about immigration status would waste officers' time.

There are quite a few American cities with similar regulations.

Meanwhile, U.S. Representative John Culberson, a Republican from Texas, wants Congress to end funding to police agencies that provide a sanctuary for illegals. He said; "We've got a lot of dangerous criminals, and even terrorists, hiding in the United States under false identities, and we need our local law enforcement officers to help identify who those people are."

Sounds like common sense to me.

I don’t know if such a change in policy would have helped Officer Johnson, but it’s the height of stupidity to assume a Clintonesque “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy towards illegal aliens.